Tag Archives: inspirational

As you may know, I study English at University. I study it because it is one of my favourite subjects, but when I was originally looking for University courses I looked for Physics courses, because I love that subject too. This has struck people as rather unusual in the past, and it might strike you the same, but I love those subjects (I was so happy to find a book about Science and Literature a few weeks ago), and I find they cross over in some respects. Now some of you that just read that last clause may think, ‘Nope, you can’t mix Science and Art. They’re too different. At school I hated Science, but I loved Art as I got to be creative, etc.’ Well I want to explain to you my view: Science is as much of an Art, as Art is as much of a Science.

The Sciences are stereotypically seen as the logical, ‘cold’ subjects where you use lots of numbers, formulae and experiments, and the Arts are seen as free, imaginative and emotionally ‘warm’. I challenge these stereotypes. Yes, of course you use numbers and experiments in the Sciences, but does it not take imagination to come up with a scientific theory? Do you not need the ability to write concisely yet eloquently, a skill practiced in the subject of English? Alternatively, let us consider English and Art: indeed, both are very creative subjects, but do they not require planning, logicality and expertise? Can they not be reviewed with a critical, ‘cold’ eye?

I have come across both students and teachers who say they love one subject and hate the other, and that is perfectly okay, as it would be a shame if people did not express their opinions. What I find sad though is that maybe nobody said to them, ‘Why do we not look at this subject you “hate” in a way you understand or prefer, so that maybe you could enjoy it a little too?’

That being said, there is a secondary school Science teacher, Rob Wilkinson, who uses some of his original art in his work. You can check out his work over on the Facebook page, ‘Rob Wilkinson Art’.

He creates some pretty cool images, doesn’t he? I think they are very visually striking, and creations such as those in the ‘School worksheets, pen & ink.’ album might be fun aids to help students learn and recall information, and even inspire them (please do not use any images without the artist’s permission, otherwise it would be copyright infringement). What I also love about them is that they make a deliberate link between Art and Science – hopefully the students will be able to realise how wonderfully the two disciplines can work in co-operation, and start to make more links between them.

This hope is something I want to realise when I become a teacher, so that maybe students can learn to enjoy both, and as a result do better in both (even if they still prefer one over the other). We need to develop a friendship between the Sciences and the Arts for the love of learning. A friendship can exist, but nothing will come to fruition if we do not try to help it do so. ______________________________________________________

What do you think about the divide between the Arts and Sciences? Were/ Are you a student who greatly preferred one discipline over the other? Let me know what you think, I would love to hear from you.